Cacao Sampaka: Chocolate at its finest

Text: Noelia Santana | Photos: Cacao Sampaka

For the Aztecs, it was considered the food of the gods, and for many today, chocolate might as well be of divine inception too. Its addictive nature lifts the spirits and goes well with pretty much anything.

At Cacao Sampaka, they want you to experience the pleasure of chocolate at its very tasty best. Their company was founded in 2000 by a family from Barcelona, and their mission is simple: rediscovering the fascinating culture and history of cacao and chocolate.

Chocolate is a simple indulgence with a very intricate process of production. The origin of the cacao and the process in which it is farmed and sourced gives place to diverse connotations in flavours. Cacao Sampaka’s ‘History of chocolate’ collection helps you appreciate this, as it takes you on a delicious journey around America and Africa, home of the best cacao on the planet. This special line is made with great care, keeping the best features of each variety of cacao so you can enjoy the different aspects between them.

Sergio Gil.

Pleasure, harmony and experience describe the feelings they hope to provoke for their customers. “All of our recipes are precisely calculated for the enjoyment of all the ingredients, nuances and flavours. When you try a product, you need to be able to taste all the ingredients to identify all its attributes,” says Sergio Gil, chocolate maker at Cacao Sampaka.

And truly, the way they mix and match ingredients with the best cacao is sort of an art. Their ‘innovation’ range of bonbons contains such unexpected flavours to excite and even confuse your taste buds, like gin and tonic, wasabi or curry. With their ‘Passion et chocolat’ series, they mix chocolate with essential oils of aromatic plants, medicinal roots and spices like guarana, ginseng or sandalwood, each with their own health benefits, to give us yet another excuse to indulge in chocolate.

Their flagship store is in Barcelona, but they are also spreading their recipes in places like Japan, Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia. When you visit their chocolate mecca, don’t forget to get a taste of Spain with Mediterranean flavours like rosemary, orange, almond and even Ibizan salt. Their ‘Gaudi’ collection shapes each chocolate with sculptural designs inspired by Gaudi’s architecture, and makes a great gift to take home as a reminder of times well spent in chocolate heaven.